New Delhi. The political temperature suddenly increased in the all-party meeting held on Sunday, just before the winter session of Parliament, where the opposition parties raised sharp questions on the government, making SIR (Survey of Intensive Revision of Electoral Rolls) the main issue, while the Center reiterated its appeal for the smooth running of the House. Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said that the meeting was ‘very productive’, but some parties indicated that there could be an uproar in the House over SIR. Rijiju clearly said that ‘It is not right not to allow the House to function despite the consent.’
Several opposition parties, including Congress, SP and Shiv Sena (UBT), alleged that the SIR process has created insecurity among voters and that a detailed discussion on the issue is necessary in the House due to allegations of ‘vote theft’. Congress’s Pramod Tiwari said that “if there is no discussion on SIR, it means that the government itself wants to derail the House.” SP’s Ram Gopal Yadav alleged that “pressure was put on officials to cut votes.”
On the other hand, JDU’s Sanjay Jha defended Bihar and said that “in the elections held after SIR, not a single person complained about deletion of name in the voter list.” Arun Bharti of LJP (RV) enumerated the benefits of SIR and raised the demand for forming a national task force on the flood problem of Kosi river. Several regional issues also came up in the meeting – TDP raised a number of topics ranging from Krishna river water sharing to farmers’ distress, while Akali Dal’s Harsimrat Kaur Badal sought to start the House by paying tribute to Guru Teg Bahadur on the 350th martyrdom day and expressed displeasure over Punjab-related bills.
Congress’s Gaurav Gogoi also demanded discussion on the Centre’s foreign policy, pollution, terrorist incidents, economic security and preparedness for natural disasters. Whereas Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal indicated that “this time the discussion is expected.” Overall, even before the start of the winter session, the atmosphere clearly shows that the Center and the Opposition are set to clash on issues like SIR, security, economy and inflation – and the conflict may become even more intense in this short session of 19 days.
Who said what regarding the all-party meeting?
Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Kiren Rijiju After the all-party meeting before the winter session of Parliament, he said, “In the meeting, leaders of many political parties have said that SIR should also be discussed and there are many issues… No one has said that they will not allow the House to function, but some people or leaders have said that they can create ruckus in the House regarding SIR… We are ready to listen to the opposition but if any issue you are putting forward and the other party does not agree with it, then it is not right to talk about not allowing the House to function. To all of us. Will appeal that they do not protest like last time, then we will see.
Kiren Rijiju Said, “On the all-party meeting before the winter session of Parliament, Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said,” The meeting was very good and very productive. I thank the floor leaders of all political parties. Everyone participated and expressed their party’s views. We will consider all the suggestions received from the floor leaders of political parties today and then present them before the Business Advisory Committee. 36 political parties and 50 leaders participated in this meeting. On behalf of the government, I assure you that we will continue to hold talks with the opposition to run the winter session of Parliament smoothly. I would also request the opposition party leaders to cooperate in running the Parliament properly. There are obstacles in democracy, especially in parliamentary democracy. There are differences among political parties. Everyone has to work with their own ideology and agenda, so there will be differences. Despite these differences, if we all decide not to disturb the House, whatever protest has to be done, protest should be done while staying in the House and the proceedings of the House should not be stopped in any way…”
LJP (Ram Vilas) MP Arun Bharti On the all-party meeting before the winter session of Parliament, he said, “Every time an all-party meeting is held before the commencement of the House… On behalf of our party, we discussed how Bihar benefited from SIR and how a national task force should be formed regarding floods in Kosi river to solve this problem…”
Union Minister Anupriya Patel On the all-party meeting before the winter session, he said, “The all-party meeting has been organized as per the parliamentary traditions. All the floor leaders and public representatives have been present in this meeting… The government has offered to all the political parties that all the parties should cooperate in running the House smoothly… Our efforts will be that this winter session can be completely utilized in the public interest… There are different topics. Many parties have raised the topics they deem appropriate. The government has All the issues have been taken into consideration and it will be discussed as per the rules of our House. As the government always says that we are ready for discussion, whatever important topics will be discussed.”
After all-party meeting, TDP MP Laavu Sri Krishna Devarayalu Said, “On behalf of the Telugu Desam Party, the issues we raised were, there is a need to increase the productivity of Parliament… The second issue we want to raise is related to the distribution of Krishna river water. This issue is between Andhra Pradesh and Telangana… The third is related to the Jaljeevan Mission… so that it is clear how the Jaljeevan scheme will be implemented and what benefits Andhra Pradesh can get. The fourth is related to the farmers of the state…”
Congress MP Pramod Tiwari Speaking at the all-party meeting ahead of the winter session, he said, “Most of the parties are of the opinion that if SIR is not discussed then it means the government does not want to run the House. They (Election Commission) themselves felt that the time given by them was not enough and the time given by them was not enough and the time has been extended by one week regarding SIR… This process will take at least 1 to 3 years… Congress has always expressed concern that as per the Constitution of India, the Prime Minister of India and the Council of Ministers are answerable. The Prime Minister sometimes The Prime Minister is not fulfilling his responsibilities as per the basic spirit of the Constitution. It was also said that the foreign policy is deviating and it is not in the interest of the country. People want discussion on inflation and unemployment. The Election Commission and the government should stop killing democracy.
Samajwadi Party MP Ram Gopal Yadav Speaking at the all-party meeting before the winter session of Parliament, he said, “Only the issue of SIR has been raised by SP. In this, people are being asked to cut votes on a large scale due to pressure from officials….”
Shiromani Akali Dal MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal Speaking at the all-party meeting before the winter session, he said, “I have appealed to the government and the leaders of the House that the 350th martyrdom day of Guru Teg Bahadur is being celebrated across the country… The session should be started by paying tribute to him… The second demand is that such bills are being brought again and again which not only weaken the federal structure but you are trying to isolate Punjab and spoil its peace. The Chandigarh bill which has been stopped and not withdrawn is on that. There should be a discussion and they should tell when the government will hand over Chandigarh.
Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal Speaking at the all-party meeting before the winter session of Parliament, he said, “This time it seems that there will be a discussion. Opposition parties have also brought many issues.”
National Executive President of JDU Sanjay Kumar Jha Said on the winter session of Parliament, “The last session in Bihar was also a washout and SIR was being held only in Bihar at that time and the houses were being closed here. The entire SIR work in Bihar was done in a month. Not a single complaint was received from anyone saying that his name had been struck off from the voter list. Elections were held in Bihar after SIR. Not a single person said whether his name had been struck off from the voter list or not and the Election Commission did a very good job. Result You It is in front of everyone.”
Congress MP after all-party meeting Gaurav Gogoi Said, “The winter session today is of only 19 days, out of which discussions will be held only for 15 days. This will probably be the shortest winter session so far…It seems that the government itself wants to derail the Parliament. We raised the issue of security so that important issues related to security should be discussed in this winter session…The explosion in Delhi is a big proof of the failures of our legal and home department somewhere…The second is the discussion on the security of democracy…Our third demand is ours.” The way air pollution is increasing in every corner of the country was the fifth issue that we raised about the way floods, landslides and storms are coming. We also raised the issue of our foreign policy.
RJD MP at all-party meeting before winter session of Parliament Manoj Kumar Jha Said, “We would hope that the government will think ahead of the elections, there should be a comprehensive discussion on the concerns that people have regarding GDP, SIR….”
Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi Speaking on the winter session of Parliament, she said, “I hope that the coming session will be a fruitful session in which important issues of the country will be discussed… We are seeing how many BLOs are working under pressure during the SIR process… Vote theft has also been exposed… Rahul Gandhi has also raised many issues citing Haryana. These are all the issues, whether it is the issue of pollution or adulterated food, which are the issues of the opposition, we will get a chance to discuss them also. I hope…”
